


The Drive Home

by flawedamythyst



Series: Cluster [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/pseuds/flawedamythyst
Summary: Sam's PoV on the trip from the hospital to Brooklyn, after he and Steve and Bucky pick Clint up.





	The Drive Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kangofu_CB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangofu_CB/gifts).



Sam was doing his best to ignore the back seat and just concentrate on his burger, but it was hard to pretend there’s nothing weird going on when Bucky Barnes -Bucky Fucking Barnes, who until an hour ago, Sam would have said didn’t know how to smile- and some random convict were making out as if the world would end if they stop.

He darted a look over at Steve, to see if he had any hope of an intervention from that quarter, but Steve was just driving as if nothing weird was going on behind him, and occasionally flicking looks in the mirror that made him smile to himself.

Jesus, it looked Sam was the only sane guy in the car.

Barton let out a tiny, pained hitch of breath, and Bucky immediately pulled away with a concerned look.

“Hey, no,” said Barton, trying to pull him back in. “Don’t stop, there totally needs to be more of that.”

“There will be,” said Bucky, gently moving the guy off his lap and setting him back on the seat, then reaching over to do his seatbelt up. “Let’s just save it until we’re somewhere more comfortable, where I can make sure I’m not hurting you.”

“Maybe I want you to hurt me, just a little,” said Barton, under his breath, and his and Bucky’s eyes met in a gaze hot enough for Sam to worry things were going to start bursting on fire. “So I know you’re really here.”

“Oh, I’m here,” said Bucky, and reached out to take his hand.

Sam let out a long, exhausted sigh, and gave Steve an exhausted glare. “How long until we get back to Brooklyn?”

“Four and a half hours,” said Steve, far too cheerfully. Sam groaned.

“Don’t go harshing my buzz, Wilson,” said Bucky.

“Don’t go committing indecent acts with two officers of the law present,” sent back Sam.

“Hey, uh, so I’m Clint,” said Barton. “I guess I should thank you for coming out with Steve.”

Sam glanced over his shoulder to see his hesitant smile, still glowing with happiness and holding hands with Bucky while Bucky gave him this smug, besotted look that Sam was never going to be able to reconcile with the asshole he thought he knew.

“No problem, it’s my job,” he said, then amended that. “I mean, I thought it was my job, but apparently we’re breaking a bunch of laws, so-”

“Nope, we’re good,” said Steve. “We just did what we were told to do, the prison guys just did what they were told to do, the guy actually breaking laws isn’t in the country, and isn’t an American anyway.”

Sam groaned. “Please, don’t tell me any more,” he begged, because he lost more plausible deniability with every word. “Jesus, Steve, I thought you were Mr Morally Upstanding. What the hell?”

Steve shrugged. “There was a wrong that needed righting,” he said. “Clint didn’t deserve to waste his life in jail for being a dumbass, and he definitely didn’t deserve to be locked in with guys who were trying to beat him to death.” He shrugged one shoulder and glanced away from the road to give Bucky a shit-eating grin. “Besides, I couldn’t take much more of Bucky’s pining.”

“Fuck off, Rogers,” said Bucky, but as he was still softly smiling and stroking Barton’s hand, he didn’t come off as very threatening. “Oh, hey, did you bring the thing?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “The thing you nagged me about every five minutes for three days? Yeah, I remembered it.” He glanced at Sam. “Can you give Bucky the bag in the glove box?”

Sam pulled out a plastic bag and handed it back to Bucky, who was _still_ smiling, and that really was getting creepy now.

He’d heard about Bucky long before he’d met him, in stories from Steve about his best friend the soldier, who was funny and the life of any party and flirted with anything that moved. Sam didn’t recognise much of that guy in the man who had come home from Afghanistan without an arm, shut off and scowling at everyone. He got a feeling he was seeing him now.

“I told you I’d get this for you,” said Bucky, handing Barton the bag. “And pizza, but we can get that once we’re home.”

Barton’s eyes lit up. “Pizza,” he said, reverently. “Oh man, yes, I can eat something other than prison sludge again.” He gripped at Bucky’s sleeve, eyes going wide with realisation. “Doughnuts,” he said with excitement.

Bucky grinned back. “Hey, Steve,” he said without looking away from Barton’s excited face. “Is there a Krispy Kreme on the way home?”

“There can be,” said Steve, and Barton actually cheered, like a child.

He didn’t exactly seem like a hardened criminal. Maybe letting him go free wasn’t going to end badly.

Unless this was all a front he was putting on to wind Bucky around his little finger. Sam really hoped not, it seemed like the guy could do with something good happening to him for once.

Bucky poked at Barton. “Open it.”

Barton grinned at him again, then pulled open the bag and let out an excited gasp. “Oh my god, you didn’t!”

“Of course I did,” said Bucky. “I told you I missed it.”

Barton pulled a bright purple hoodie out of the bag and hugged it to himself. “You’re the best,” he told Bucky, with complete sincerity.

Sam glanced over at Steve to see he was smiling in the rear-view mirror again. “Sat Nav says seven miles to doughnuts,” he said, and Barton cheered again.

“”You need to get one with icing,” he told Bucky, “so I can lick it off your lips.”

Sam groaned again, and put his head in his hands. This drive was going to kill him.


End file.
